Harvey Milk's lucky break(up)

In considering the career trajectory of Athens icons Harvey Milk, drummer Kyle Spence minces no words.

"The best thing we ever did was break up," says Spence, only half-joking.

The extraordinarily metaled band, which was founded in 1992 and split up six years later (because, said bassist Steven Tanner last spring, "No one cared - not people and not record labels") has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts during the past 12 months, releasing the critically acclaimed "Life ... The Best Game in Town" and embarking on tours of the United States and Europe.

"People seemed to like the album," says Spence, who will join Tanner and guitarist Creston Spiers for a show tonight at Caledonia Lounge. "We got the best feedback on this one than on anything we've ever done. It seems like we've turned into one of those bands people like to write about. I sure don't know how that happened."

Spence, who owns and operates a studio in Athens, adds that he was shocked with the positive press "Life" received upon its release last year.

"We were getting all these press clippings from our label (Hydra Head Records), and it got to be so much that I called them and asked how much did they pay to get all this publicity," he says. "We figured they were spending a fortune. But they said they didn't spend any money at all. ... I didn't think we deserved that much attention the first time around, and I'm not sure we deserve it now."

But Spence, who succeeded charter member Paul Trudeau in Harvey Milk's drum chair in 1996, assents much has changed in the world of popular music since Harvey Milk played its last show in June 1998.

"Any band that breaks up, it's a good thing, because if anything, it rids the world of a (terrible) band if that band is no good," he says. "But if the band was good, over time, whatever it was they did resonates, and sometimes they get back together and it is good, especially for the people in the band.

"That people care at all now is probably because of how popular the kind of music we played has become in our absence. There weren't that many bands that did what we did when we started - now there are whole genres and festivals for that kind of music. We just thought it would be silly to sit back and watch these other bands play shows if we still had an interest in doing it."

If there's something else that's come along since the band's early days, it's the name recognition with its moniker. Sean Penn's performance in "Milk" tells the dramatic story of America's first openly gay elected official (as a city supervisor in San Francisco 30 years ago). Penn nabbed an Oscar on Sunday for the role.

But despite the renewed interest and name recognition, it's not likely the Milk-meisters ever will return to the road on a full-time basis - with Tanner living in Brooklyn, Spiers teaching school in Clarke County and Spence running his studio.

Still, there are a few opportunities. Now back in trio format after touring last year with guitarist-bassist Joe Preston, formerly of the Melvins, they'll play in Athens tonight as part of a long weekend of road shots.

"We got asked to play at the Scion Rock Festival in Atlanta on Saturday, and the offer was good enough to do it, but we thought we should play some more shows while Steven was here," Spence says. "So we booked Thursday in Athens; we'll play Friday in Chapel Hill, and then in Atlanta on Saturday. When we get together to do stuff now, it has to make sense financially because travel is so expensive. We wanted to come away with something in our pockets."